casual observation appears to be a piece of bark curling up at the edges;
this, I am informed, however, is nothing less than the sole of one of
Mohammed's sandals. Putting away this venerable relic of the great
founder of Islam, the old Mussulman assumes a look of profound importance
and mystery. One would think, from his expression and manners, that he
was about to reveal to the sacrilegious gaze of an infidel nothing less
than the Prophet's fifth rib or the parings from his pet corn. Instead of
these he exhibits a flat piece of rock bearing marks resembling the shape
of a man's foot--the imprint of Mohammed's foot, miraculously made.
To one whose soulful gaze has been enraptured with an imprint of the
first Sultan's hand on the wall of St. Sophia, and the mosaic figure of
the Virgin Mary persistently refusing to be painted out of sight on the
dome of the same mosque, this piece of rock would scarcely seem to
justify the vast display of reverence that is evidently expected of all
visitors by the Ancient and Hopeful.

But perhaps it is on account of the place of honor it occupies
immediately preceding what is undoubtedly a very precious relic indeed, a
relic that fills the worthy custodian with mystery and importance. Or,
perchance, mystery and importance have been found, during his long and
varied experience with the unsophisticated tourist, excellent things to
increase the volume of importance attached to the exhibited articles, and
the volume of "pice" in his exchequer. At any rate, the Ancient and
Hopeful assumes more mystery and importance than ever as he uncovers a
second tin casket with a glass front. Glued to the glass, inside, is a
single coarse yellow hair about two inches long; the precious relic,
which has a suspicious resemblance to a bristle, is considered the gem of
the collection, being nothing less than a hair from the Prophet's
venerable mustache. Mohammedans swear by the beard of the Prophet, just
as good Christians swear by "the great horned spoon," or by "great
Caesar's ghost," so that the possession of even this one poor little
hair, surrounded as it is by a blue halo of suspicion as to its
authenticity, sheds a ray of glory upon the great Jama Mesjid scarcely
surpassed by its importance as the second-largest mosque in the world.
The two-inch yellow hair is considered the piece de resistance of the
collection, and the Ancient and Hopeful stows it away with all due
reverence, strokes his henna-stain